How To: Prepare to Buy a Home Owning a home is a part of the American dream, but how do you know when that dream is attainable? Although there are many important steps towards purchasing a house, there are a few necessary ones that should be taken before the house hunting even begins, to help the process go smoothly. Here are a few tips to preparing yourself for a home purchase. 1. Get Your Finances in OrderWithout the proper financial standing, your dream home could remain imaginary. Get to know your credit score and make sure it’s in good shape. If it’s not, repair any damage that you can. The better your credit score, the easier it is to get a loan for a home. Also, make sure you have enough money set aside, for not only a down payment, but for any fees or other unexpected expenses t... 10/19/2011

Is 20% Down Payment to Become Norm Again? According to MSN Money, it is highly likely that the mortgage market will begin to return to the 20 percent norm again. However, while most borrowers are misguided to believing that they need at least a 20% down payment before beginning the mortgage process, most mortgage insurers stray from writing policies that are equal to or lower than 20%. There are many policies that accept far less than 20% for down payments. For example, FHA backed mortgages agree on 3.5% down payment while veterans can have 0%. If 20% seems too daunting when beginning to think about purchasing a home, view the 20% as a savings target. The more money you put down on upfront, the lower your interest rate will be resulting in a cheaper loan. All-in-all, the decision about ... 10/19/2011

There are many various tips on when is the best time to find a deal on a car. One of the most popular, but most debated is rain. Some believe it’s the best time to look for a car in the rain, since most people won’t, thus salesmen will be desperate for a sale and offer you a lower price on the car. However, others believe you’ll be the one that looks desperate, so desperate you’re searching for a car in the rain, resulting in the salesmen hiking the price higher. Well you shouldn’t rely on weather to help you get a deal on a car, but there are a few tricks that could help. Most people have time to shop during the weekends, making the job easier on salesmen and harder on the buyer to score a deal. If you don’t want to compete other buyers, try shopping around on the weekdays when salesme... 10/18/2011

The air is getting colder and the leaves have changed colors. As the end of October nears, we all have Halloween on the mind. But with costume and candy prices sky rocketing as the day approaches, you may wonder how you cannot spend a terrifying amount for a fun holiday. Well, we’ve got a few tricks and treats to help you save a spooky amount! When thinking about you and your children’s costumes, you may be browsing the retail shops and finding prices ranging up to $50 for kid costumes and $100 for adults. $150 or more for a fun stroll through your neighborhood so your kids can get some candy?! Well it doesn’t have to be. Venture away from the popular Halloween stores and search through thrift stores. Check out the dollar store that usually has all the accessories your little goblin nee... 10/17/2011

Will your home inspector tell you if your electric service is too small? While it goes beyond the scope of a home inspection to perform load calculations, occasionally I'll do a rough calculation if I get concerned that an electric service is too small for a house.  If the service size from my rough calculation comes up too close to the actual service size, I'll recommend having an electrician perform an official load calculation... and I think I've done this twice.  Ever. At nearly every home inspection, I find one of two things:  either the electric service is outdated and obviously too small, such as the 30 amp service pictured at right, or the service has been upgraded or over-sized and is plenty large enough for the home.  I don't find much in-between those two. I got to thinking a... 10/10/2011

With housing prices down across the country, there are a lot of homeowners in Minneapolis barely breaking even on their respective home sales. Some are even losing money. You may find yourself in that position, too; wanting to sell, but worried about bringing cash to your own closing. It creates an interesting dilemma. You want your home to "show nicely" relative to comparable properties, but you don't want to invest big dollars that may never be recouped into upgrades or renovations. So what do you do? The answer is simple. Do the bare minimum. From an advice piece in the Wall Street Journal, we learn of 10 basic home improvement projects that will help your home have better showings. The advice requires almost no technical skills, and the projects be tackled in a weekend. The theme? H... 05/13/2011

  Standard & Poors released its Case-Shiller Index for the month of January this week. The index is a home valuation tool, measuring the monthly and annual changes in home prices in select cities nationwide. January's Case-Shiller Index gave a poor showing. As compared to December 2010, home values dropped in 19 of the Case-Shiller Index's 20 tracked markets. Only Washington, D.C. gained. The results were only modestly better on an annual basis, too. 18 of 20 markets worsened in the 12 months ending January 2011. According to the report, values are down 3.1% from last year, retreating to the same levels from Summer 2003. As a buyer or seller in today's market, though, don't read too much into it. The Case-Shiller Index is far too flawed to be the final word in housing. The index has 3 m... 03/30/2011

On a seasonally-adjusted basis, the Pending Home Sales Index rose 2 percent last month, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. A "pending home sale" is defined as a home under contract to sell, but not yet closed. February's Pending Home Sales Index rebound breaks a 2-month losing streak, and reverses the recent downward momentum in housing. Both Existing Home Sales and New Home Sales volume showed a sizable loss last month.  For buyers and sellers of real estate in Minneapolis , the Pending Home Sales Index is of particular import. It's one of the few forward-looking indicators in housing, and February's data suggests a stronger spring season than was the winter. Region-by-region, Pending Home Sales data varied: Northeast Region: -10.9% Midwest Region : +4.0% South Region... 03/30/2011

Mortgage markets worsened last week as nuclear meltdown concerns eased across Japan, and the war within Libya moved closer to a potential finish. Wall Street voted with its dollars, and a return to risk-taking emerged. "Safe haven" buying softened last week and, as a result, conforming mortgage rates in Wisconsin made their biggest 1-week spike since late-January. Mortgage rates remain historically low, but well above their November 2010 lows. This week, rates could run higher again. Friday's jobs report is a major story and it will affect mortgage rates in Plymouth and across the country. Jobs are a key component of the nation's economic recovery, and as the economy has improved, mortgage rates have tended to rise. Economists expect that 190,000 jobs were created in March. If they're c... 03/30/2011

  It's a great time for Minneapolis buyers and homeowners to look at the 15-year fixed rate mortgage. According to Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the relative "discount" of a 15-year fixed rate loan as compared to a comparable 30-year product is the largest in recorded history. The interest rate spread between the two benchmark products is now 0.77%, nearly double the recent, 5-year average of 0.44%. Despite its lower rates, however, homeowners that opt for a 15-year fixed mortgage should be prepared for higher monthly payments. This is because the principal balance of a 15-year fixed is repaid in half as many years as with a 30-year amortizing product. The payment increase is 41% higher at today's rates. If you can manage that, though, you'll reap dramatic interes... 03/30/2011

Sales of newly-built homes plunged 17 percent to an seasonally-adjusted, annualized 250,000 units in February, and the supply of new homes rose to 8.9 months in February - a 1.5 month jump from January. It's the lowest New Home Sales reading in recorded history, according to the Census Bureau, and the third straight report to signal that home values may be slow to rise in Minneapolis and nationwide this season. Earlier this week, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Existing Home Sales down 10 percent from February, and the Federal Home Finance Agency said home values slipped 0.3 percent between December and January. The media has picked up on the trend, too.  No Spring In Housing's Step (WSJ) Is Housing Really In Recovery (CNBC) Experts See Weak Recovery (UPI) There's two int... 03/24/2011

Home sales data is easing so far in this calendar year. Home resales and new construction have dropped to multi-month lows and, in many cities, home supplies are rising. One housing sector that's not slowing, however, is rentals. The rental market is booming. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the average apartment vacancy rate is 6.6% nationwide, down from 8.0% last year. In addition, the number of occupied apartments rose by more during Q4 2010 than during any comparable period of the last 10 years. It's a major reason why rents are up 2.3%. Some areas, however, fared worse than others. This study of rent increases as published on MSNBC, for example, lists the 10 U.S. cities in which rents increased the most last year. And they may not be the cities you'd expect. In order: Greenv... 03/24/2011

Existing Home Sales fell 10 percent last month, according to a report from the National Association of REALTORS®. On an annual basis, 4.88 million homes were sold in February - the first time annualized home resales dropped below 5,000,000 since November 2010. An "existing home" is one that's not considered new construction. And it's not just sales volume that's down. Home inventory is higher, too. At the current pace of sales, the number of months needed to sell the complete home resale inventory rose by 1.1 months, to 8.6 months nationally. It's the biggest one-month jump in supply since July 2010 - the month after last year's federal home buyer tax credit program expired. The data is somewhat unexpected, too. NAR's Pending Home Sales report is a reliable predictor for the housing mar... 03/22/2011

Mortgage markets improved again last week despite an inflation-acknowledging statement from the FOMC and stronger-than-expected jobless data. Usually, events like this would lead mortgage rates higher, but violence in the Middle East and worsening fear for public safety in Japan took center stage instead, spurring a massive, global flight-to-quality instead. Rate shoppers in Plymouth  benefited. As safe haven buying increased last week, conforming mortgage rates dropped, falling to their lowest levels since January. It marked the 5th straight week through which mortgage rates improved and is the longest such streak since August 2010. This week, rates may run lower again. You may not want to gamble on it, though. Here's why. In general, when there's inflation in the U.S. economy, mortgag... 03/22/2011

Buying a home after a Foreclosure, Shortsale and Bankruptcy in Plymouth and Maple Grove, MN  Buying a home after a Foreclosure, Shortsale and Bankruptcy in Plymouth and Maple Grove, MN  03/22/2011

So finally we get some Good news, home sales are up 5.7% in Plymouth, MN but there's a catch the MN statewide median sales price is down 8%! In the south central and northwest regions sales through February rose more than 25% which is a huge improvement year over year. Good news, home sales are up 5.7% in Plymouth, MN but there's a catch So what does this data tells us?? That there are still buyers in this market but the sellers are mostly foreclosures and/or shortsales and that means that values and prices will continue to drop.  Most data I have read is that prices will fall again in 2011 between 10-20 percent from last year!  If you are a buyer in this market you are one lucky duck because you are not only buying your house on the cheap but you are financing at historically low inter... 03/21/2011

Spring starts tomorrow on Monday, March 21st 2011 It hard to believe that Spring starts tomorrow on Monday, March 21st 2011 already.  In Minnesota we had a good old fashioned winter the likes of which I haven't seen since the early 1990's. I have read that we had over 70 inches of snow this season which is almost 6 feet! Real estate sales are really starting to pick up now which is alway nice and with interest rates on the downward trend again we should be in good shape to have a strong start to the Spring market. Spring starts tomorrow on Monday, March 21st 2011 If you are looking to purchase a home with FHA financing you have approximately 30 days to find a house and get your FHA case # pulled prior to April 18th when monthly mortgage insurance premiums will jump .25% from .9% of the ... 03/20/2011

Buying a home in Maple Grove or Plymouth, MN and need a mortgage ? Are you Buying a home in Maple Grove or Plymouth, MN and need a mortgage ? Then you need to call me so I can tell you why I should be your loan officer.  Here are just a few reasons: My company Guaranteed Rate closed 6.9 Billion dollars in mortgages last year and this is important to you because that volume means a lower interest rate for you. We locally underwrite all of your mortgages in Bloomington which means our underwriters understand the local maket and therefore you will have a much smoother process. I have personally been a loan officer for 10 years and have closed over $200,000,000 in mortgage volume in this time so I know the ins and outs of how to get you the best mortgage with the lowest cost. I understand t... 03/19/2011

Breaking the 10,000 point barrier with Activerain I joined Activerain about 4 years ago and did absolutely nothing with my account until about a month ago when my phone rang with a lead from an old classmate that found me online by Googling me and seeing my Activerain profile. This phone call turned into a loan I am closing next week and was the beginning of my Activerain journey which today has me Breaking the 10,000 point barrier with Activerain I realized the moment I got of the phone with that client that by not fully tapping into this resource I was leaving business and paychecks on the table. I started writing a daily blog and accumulating points and paying attention to my stats and moving up in the ranks in my state, county and local city and as you read this blog I am officially... 03/18/2011

Today, for the second straight meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged within its target range of 0.000-0.250 percent. The vote was 10-0. In its press release, the FOMC noted that since its January 2011 meeting, the economic recovery "is on firming footing", and that the labor markets are "improving gradually". In addition, household spending "continues to expand". Nonetheless, the Fed said, the economy remains constrained by rising commodity prices and the "depressed" housing sector. The FOMC statement also re-affirms the group's plan to keep the Fed Funds Rate near zero percent "for an extended period", and to keep its $600 billion bond market support package - more commonly called "QE2″ - intact. And, lastly, for the third st... 03/16/2011